As you age, you may notice white spots on your teeth. If these white spots are causing you to hide your smile, it’s time to take action. Our team at Paris Mountain Dental can help treat these white spots and restore your smile. Today, we want to talk about some of the causes for white spots on teeth along with treatment options.

What Causes White Spots?

There are two common culprits for white spots on teeth: dental fluorosis and calcium deposits. Dental fluorosis occurs when people ingest too much fluoride as children. This condition is usually harmless and develops before teeth break through the gums. Calcium deposits, on the other hand, develop in adulthood.

Calcium Deposits

Calcium deposits occur when the calcium phosphate in your saliva sticks to plaque on your teeth. Plaque is a sticky biofilm composed of bacteria in your mouth that feed on sugar and starches. Without proper care, calcium phosphate can harden into tartar. Not only does tartar attract even more bacteria and plaque, tartar is an irritant that can lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and other issues.

How Do We Treat Calcium Spots?

Unlike plaque, tartar cannot be removed by brushing. The only way to remove tartar is through a professional cleaning at our office. Our team will use special tools to remove tartar both above and below your gum line. If the tartar buildup is more severe, we many recommend root planing and scaling, a deep cleaning treatment that involves cleaning the root surfaces of your teeth and removing all tartar.

Restoring the Appearance of Your Teeth

Once white spots on your teeth are a thing of the past, you may want to take advantage of our professional whitening services to get that bright, white smile you’ve always wanted. To ask our team any questions about white spots on your teeth or to schedule your next appointment, contact our office today!

Dentistry is one of the oldest medical professions, but like other medical professions, it was very primitive until relatively recently. In this article, we offer a brief summary of dentistry’s history, which we hope you’ll find both educational and entertaining.

Primitive Dentistry

Archaeological evidence suggests that humans have been trying to fix bad teeth since at least 7000 B.C. Unfortunately, their contributions to dentistry were largely worthless. The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle, for example, believed that women had fewer teeth than men. Although he was married twice, he apparently never bothered to count the teeth of his wives, because he would have quickly learned that he was wrong. And the ancient Sumerians theorized that tooth decay was caused by tooth worms. Although their theory was totally wrong, it was generally accepted as fact until the 1700s.

The Birth of Modern Dentistry

The French surgeon Pierre Fauchard almost single-handedly invented the modern dentistry profession in 1723 when he published his book “The Surgeon Dentist,” which defined a comprehensive system for caring for and treating teeth.

Fauchard is also credited with being the first person to figure out that tooth decay is caused by acids from sugar instead of worms. He also pioneered the use of dental fillings, and was the first dentist to keep dentures in place by anchoring them to molars—a technique that provided the foundation for modern braces.

Dentistry in the USA

The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, established in 1840, was the first dental college in the United States. Harvard University Dental School, founded in 1867, was the first university-affiliated dental institution. The dental profession’s first official organization, the American Dental Association, was formed in 1859.

In the marketplace, Colgate introduced the first commercial toothpaste in the 1870s, and mass-produced toothbrushes appeared soon thereafter. The first fluoride toothpaste appeared in 1955, when Procter & Gamble introduced its Crest brand, and fluoridated toothpaste has been the industry standard ever since.

And of course Paris Mountain Dental contributes to the history of dentistry by providing the highest quality of treatment and personalized care. If you have any dental issues, or if you’re just overdue for a checkup, be sure to contact us and set up an appointment today!

Let us take a guess: When you hear the phrase “root canal,” your first thoughts are probably something to do with pain, right? At least, that seems to be the case for many people. The problem is, that doesn’t actually reflect root canal treatment! A common belief is that a root canal is the worst thing you could possibly get done at the dentist when in reality it’s a routine, effective way to save you from tooth pain—and from losing the tooth itself.

Root Canal Treatment vs. the Alternative

When you avoid necessary root canal treatment, you’re only setting yourself up for more pain and hassle in the future. A root canal is necessary when the inside of your tooth known as the pulp becomes infected. If you don’t get that infection cleaned out, it can spread further and further down your tooth and into your jaw. That means your likelihood of experiencing an abscess, swelling, pain, and sensitivity all increase. All of which we don’t think you want to deal with!

If you wait too long to address the infection, then there comes a point where your tooth can’t be saved anymore, which means you need to have it removed. Keeping your natural tooth is always a preferable choice since you won’t have to deal with a gap in your smile or pursue further (and more costly) dental work to get a replacement tooth. Don’t let your tooth deteriorate past the point of repair when you can save your beautiful, natural smile!

Stress-Free Sedation Options

You may be convinced that root canal treatment is right for you but still remain a little worried about how it’ll feel. Let us ease your concern! Modern root canal services involve using local anesthesia and dental sedation options so that patients don’t have to experience discomfort during the treatment.

Paris Mountain Dental, for example, has nitrous oxide available to help nervous and anxious patients feel completely calm during their procedure. We also have topical anesthesia and DentalVibe®, which significantly minimizes pain during injections.

If you need a root canal, or need help deciding if one is necessary for you, we welcome you at our Travelers Rest dental office. We perform gentle root canal therapy to help you get back on track with your oral health. Contact us to schedule a consultation.

Good oral hygiene habits should begin before adult teeth come in, and even before children start to lose their baby teeth. As your one-stop dental practice for the whole family, all of us at Paris Mountain Dental are excited to share the importance of teaching kids good oral hygiene habits.

Why You Should Teach Your Kids About Oral Hygiene

We tell our kids to eat their fruits and veggies because these foods include important vitamins and minerals to help them grow up to be healthy and strong. In that same sense, that is also why we should all strive to teach our children about good oral hygiene, so that their smiles grow up healthy, strong, and bright too!

Why Are Baby Teeth Important If They Fall Out Eventually?

Baby teeth serve an important role in children’s growth and overall well-being. Without baby teeth, children wouldn’t be able to smile, chew, properly bite down. Baby teeth also play an important role in how the adult teeth will erupt. If a child loses baby teeth too early, the adult teeth might erupt too soon, making it difficult for the surrounding teeth to find space to come in, which can lead to crooked and/or crowded teeth.

3 Tips to Make Good Oral Hygiene Fun for Kids

1. Brush Your Teeth Together

You know what they say—monkey see, monkey do! Showing your children that you make a habit of brushing your teeth carefully and regularly helps show them how important it is.

2. Make It Special With a Unique Toothbrush

You can help keep children interested in brushing their teeth by using a fun, colorful toothbrush or one that features their favorite cartoon character!

3. Make the Time Count

Duration is extremely important when brushing teeth, so it’s a good idea to get kids used to brushing for a full two minutes. There are lots of tooth brushing songs on YouTube. The ADA even made a curated list of several songs with some familiar characters.

Just as parents need to visit our team at Paris Mountain Dental twice a year, so do children. Our office is equipped with a kids’ play area to help children stay comfortable during their visits and our friendly team knows how important it is to be fun and friendly. We never want our young patients to fear the dentist so we do everything we can to make their dental checkups fun!

Have your children been to visit us at Paris Mountain Dental in the last six months? If it’s been a little longer, don’t wait – Contact Us Today!

If you’ve visited Paris Mountain Dental lately, our team has probably taken a set of dental X-rays as part of your exam. Often, our patients wonder why we need to X-ray teeth—since after all, your teeth are visible and easy to see. Today, we want to explain why dental X-rays are such an important tool for Dr. Ghimire and our team when it comes to diagnosing and treating a variety of dental issues.

Why Do We Need Dental X-Rays?

Even when we use mirrors, lights, and cameras to get a good look at your teeth, we still can’t see everything! X-rays help us view damage and decay to your teeth and jawbone that are not visible to the naked eye. They can even help us diagnose cavities that we would not be able to catch otherwise!

The Different Types of X-Rays for Teeth

Just like an X-ray of a broken bone, we use different types of X-rays from different vantage points to build a full picture of your oral health. The most common types of X-rays we use are bitewing, periapical, and panoramic. Bitewing X-rays capture both your upper and lower teeth as you bite down and are a great way for us to spot any decay between your teeth and make sure that your alignment is good. Periapical X-rays provide us with a comprehensive image of an individual tooth from root to crown that shows us any potential issues with root structure, bone level, cysts, or abscesses. Panoramic X-rays show your entire mouth and help us make sure that your teeth are developing correctly.

Are Teeth X-Rays Safe?

While any X-ray exposes you to radiation, dental X-rays contain an extremely low dose. In fact, the level of radiation you receive from a dental X-ray is about the same as during a short airplane flight.

We hope this information helps you understand why dental X-rays are so important when it comes to providing you and your family with quality dental care. To ask our team any questions or schedule your next visit, call our office today!

If you need root canal therapy, you might be wondering how much it’s going to cost you. Here, we explain when a root canal is necessary, what the procedure is like, and the typical cost.

Why Would I Need a Root Canal?

A root canal is a procedure that repairs and saves a tooth that is badly damaged, decayed, or infected. If you’ve been experiencing tooth sensitivity or extreme pain in an isolated area in your mouth, you may need root canal therapy and should call us immediately so we can determine the next steps to take. This pain could be caused by an infection of the pulp inside your tooth as a result of an injury or an untreated cavity. Without treatment, your tooth infection can lead to an abscess, or a pus-filled pocket inside your gums. Root canal therapy cleans out the infection and spares you from having to get the infected tooth extracted.

What Happens During a Root Canal?

1. We’ll numb the area around the tooth so you’ll only feel light pressure during the procedure.

2. Next, we’ll gently drill into the tooth to get to the infected pulp.

3. Then we’ll remove the infected tooth pulp, clean out the canals, and use antibiotics to kill any remaining infection.

How Much Does a Root Canal Cost?

The truth is that the cost for root canal therapy varies depending on the severity of your condition. While we understand that the cost of a root canal can be daunting for some, the treatment is vital for those with damaged or infected tooth pulps in order to preserve your oral health. To help ease the financial burden, we do our best to provide financial options for every budget. Paris Mountain Dental offers an in-house dental savers plan for uninsured patients that can keep root canal costs manageable. Our office is also very insurance-friendly. We file and track claims for you so you get the maximum benefits out of your plan. Get in touch with us to discuss the best payment option for your unique situation! Our team will work with you to keep the cost for root canal therapy affordable.

Do you need root canal therapy or have questions about how much a dental procedure will cost?

Although you may think of tooth decay as something that you should be able to readily feel and see, a dentist is often the only one who can diagnose it. When enamel gets damaged, cavities form beneath the surface of your teeth and are usually invisible to the untrained eye, especially without special dental tools. If you have a cavity that’s been there for a while, you may develop a toothache or, if it’s particularly serious decay, possibly see holes or pits in your teeth. At Paris Mountain Dental, we use advanced laser technology to detect your cavities as early as we can. But how do lasers assist in recognizing cavities?

About Laser Cavity-Detection

Laser cavity-detection quickly and painlessly exposes the presence of cavities. This fascinating technology is based on the fact that weaker, decayed teeth reflect more light than healthy teeth. Light easily penetrates and is absorbed by healthy teeth but has a tougher time passing through teeth with cavities.

The DIAGNOdent®

Our office proudly utilizes the DIAGNOdent system to assist Dr. Ghimire in identifying tooth decay. A pen-like laser scans your teeth, while the digital read-out portion of the device checks the density of your tooth’s structure to calculate the possibility of decay. Dr. Ghimire compares the device’s analysis to baseline measures, your dental X-rays, and her visual examination to determine if you have cavities that need to be treated.

Untreated Tooth Decay

By diagnosing cavities early, we can take care of them before they get worse. Untreated cavities can spread to neighboring teeth and cause more serious dental issues, such as gum disease, an infected inner pulp that requires root canal therapy, and tooth and bone loss. Ask our team for tips to improve your oral hygiene routine and prevent decay by contacting us today.

Schedule your next six-month checkup to confirm your teeth are strong and healthy!

The majority of American adults have had a cavity at some point in their life. If you’re conscious of getting a cavity, you might want to know how to detect them.

What Are Cavities?

First, let’s understand what cavities are. Cavities happen when tooth enamel is destroyed and tooth decay develops. The most common cavities are called coronal cavities and occur in between your teeth or on the chewing surfaces. Root cavities are less common and mainly occur in older adults with receding gums and gum disease because their tooth’s root is exposed. If left untreated, cavities can develop into an abscess, which is an infection at the root tip that will need to be treated by tooth extraction, root canal therapy, or surgery.

What Causes Cavities?

Cavities develop when food particles are left in your mouth. If foods with sugars and carbohydrates aren’t washed away after you’ve eaten, the bacteria in your mouth turns them into acids. That acid combines with food debris, saliva, and bacteria in your mouth to form plaque, which destroys tooth enamel. Though children are more susceptible to developing cavities, adults need to be just as careful at keeping up with their oral hygiene and watching their sugar and carb intake.

Can I Check for a Cavity at Home?

In the early stages of a cavity, you won’t be able to detect it at home. This is because your tooth’s enamel doesn’t have nerves so when decay is entering that layer, you won’t feel anything. If the cavity and decay has progressed to reach the soft tissue inside your tooth, where dentin and nerves are, you may notice tooth sensitivity and pain, which could be anything from a mild to a more intense sensation. If a cavity has really progressed, you may be able to see holes or pits in your teeth and stains that are black or brown. If you do, schedule an appointment with us ASAP!

How Do I Prevent Cavities?

The best way to prevent cavities is by practicing good oral hygiene. You should brush your teeth at least twice a day for 2 minutes each time, floss at least once a day, and use toothpaste with fluoride. Eating healthy foods and staying away from sugary and carbohydrate-heavy foods is also vital to cavity prevention.

Come See Us Every 6 Months!

Another way to detect and prevent cavities is to visit us for biannual cleanings and checkups. Dr. Ghimire will evaluate any unusual tooth pain and confirm the presence or absence of tooth decay. She’ll prod your teeth to check for soft spots and take X-rays to look between your teeth, where cavities often occur. Call us today to schedule your next appointment!

Is your mouth cavity-free? Find out by visiting us!

For many of us, dental emergencies are the last thing on our minds. However, in the event that the unthinkable happens, you should be prepared. At Paris Mountain Dental, we know that having a plan in the event of a dental emergency can help you limit the damage and get the treatment you need as soon as possible. We’ve put together the following list of three common dental emergencies and what to do to help prepare you and your family.

3 Common Dental Emergencies

1. Toothache

If you experience a toothache, rinse your mouth with warm water to clean it. If you notice any food particles between teeth that are causing irritation, gently use floss to remove them.

2. Knocked-Out Tooth

If you have a tooth knocked out, try to keep it moist and visit our office as soon as possible! If it is dirty, rinse it with milk or water, but don’t rub or wipe it. If possible, carefully place the tooth back in the socket without touching the root, or keep the tooth in a glass of milk. In a pinch, you can even place it in between your cheek and gums until you can visit us.

3. Cracked Tooth

If you realize that you’ve chipped or cracked a tooth, try rinsing your mouth with warm water. This will clean your mouth and help protect against infection. If you are experiencing swelling, use a cold compress. Even if a cracked tooth isn’t incredibly painful, the fissure may worsen and lead to further issues, so visit us as soon as possible.

Remember Your Preventive Care

In order to avoid a dental emergency like the ones listed above, make sure you’re practicing good preventive care habits. This includes brushing twice daily, flossing each day, attending biannual dental exams, and protecting your mouth. Wear a mouthguard if you’re participating in contact sports and avoid chewing hard foods like ice and hard candy, which can crack a tooth.

Contact Us ASAP!

No matter what your emergency is, give us a call as soon as you notice signs of trouble. We will work to fit you in to see Dr. Ghimire. If you have any questions for our team about what to do in a dental emergency or you want to schedule your next appointment, call our office today.

Have more questions about emergency dental care?

We all occasionally have bad breath – especially after eating foods full of onion and garlic. For most of us, it’s a temporary annoyance fixed by brushing our teeth, using mouthwash, or even chewing some sugar-free gum, in a pinch.

However, for others, chronic bad breath can be a sign of something more serious. Today, we want to talk about some of the causes of bad breath and some of the ways that Dr. Ghimire and the rest of our team here at Paris Mountain Dental treat it.

What Causes Bad Breath?

Bad breath has a variety of causes. Sometimes, it’s as simple as the food we eat. But other times, bad breath is the result of a more serious health condition.

Smoking is known to cause bad breath. Additionally, smoking increases your risk of developing gum disease, which is another source of bad breath.

Dry mouth can also cause bad breath, as it indicates that your saliva production has decreased. A variety of medications list dry mouth as a side effect.

More serious conditions such as tonsil stones, chronic inflammation, and cancer are also known to cause bad breath.

How Do I Fix Bad Breath?

If you notice any sudden or severe changes with your breath, let Dr. Ghimire know during your next dental visit. Dr. Ghimire will diagnose your issue, and then come up with a treatment plan.

For some patients, a more thorough preventive care routine (brushing twice daily for two minutes each time and flossing every day) will solve the problem.

For almost all of our patients who complain about bad breath, we recommend increasing their water intake. Water cleans your teeth in between brushing, and helps you stay hydrated to ensure that your saliva is functioning properly.

For others, Dr. Ghimire may prescribe a mouth spray that increases saliva production and can eliminate dry mouth.

If it turns out that your bad breath is a result of gum disease or another more serious issue, Dr. Ghimire will treat the underlying issue in order to fix your bad breath.

Contact our office to ask any additional questions about bad breath or to schedule your next appointment with Dr. Ghimire.